Secovlje Salina Nature Park covers 750ha of beautiful salt-pans beside the Dragonja river in Piran, south-west Slovenia, on the Gulf of Trieste. Whilst half of the park at Lera remains productive, the other half at Fontanigge is abandoned, and includes derelict former salt-pan houses on the levees near the Secovlje Salt-making Museum.

Halitehouse is a sculptural pavilion made of CLT panels (a stipulation of the brief) finished with a high performance translucent coating. The crystalline isometric forms create a dramatic impression on the skyline, appearing to grow out of each other like the natural evaporative mineral formation of sodium chloride – rock salt.

The structure of intersecting volumes, with its clerestorey and oriels, assimilates views of the surrounding fragile landscape, as it transforms into a salt marsh, and the large sky, inviting reflection on the relationship between cultural and natural heritage.

A speculative competition submission for Outsider magazine. Images by UP.